Pages

Wednesday, 10 August 2016

Help this little chap get a decent night's sleep

As I hope most who read this blog now know, many flat-faced dogs try to sleep sitting or even standing up because their airways block when they drop their heads. It means that some brachycephalics are chronically sleep-deprived.

This particular video is on Facebook here where it has been viewed by a quarter of a million people and received over 12,000 likes.

It originates from the @meroglichar Instagram account which features many videos of the owner's dog trying to sleep, including this one. He is clearly much loved by his owner and I thought at first she was just clueless, but she continues to post them despite people pointing out their concern.

Please help inform owners and the public by leaving comments on these and any other similar video on social media pointing out that what they're seeing is tragic, not cute.

Hell, if you have a spare hour and would really like to help, please search YouTube for "[brachy] sleeping sitting/standing up" and post the #dontignorethesnore video in Comments.

Breeds that aren't brachycephalic can suffer from obstructed or collapsed airways and similar conditions to those seen in brachycephalic dogs - sometimes through injury / disease and sometimes it's just genetic. It is of course much more common in brachycephalic dogs than any others due to the structure of their heads / muzzles.

There may be other neurological or psychological reasons for an odd sleeping posture (maybe?) but if the dog is snoring gasping or snorting it's likely due to an airway obstruction / tracheal collapse of some sort.

If you watch carefully, you will see the sides of the mouth pulling upward, like a smile. The dog is struggling to breath even through it's mouth. You have restricted air through the pinched nostrils and restricted air through the mouth. Poor thing.

SUBSCRIBE TO PDE - THE BLOG

Search This Blog

About Me

I grew up with pedigree dogs - English Setters, Great Danes, Labradors and, most recently, Flatcoated Retrievers. Today, I share my home with an assortment of dogs, purebred and mutts. In 2008, I directed Pedigree Dogs Exposed, a BBC documentary which uncovered the extent of health and welfare problems in pedigree dogs. The film has now been shown in more than 20 countries. Campaigning for improved purebred dog health is now a great passion - one fuelled by the fear that those who currently view themselves as the guardians of pedigree dogs are, often unwittingly, the agents of their demise.
My mission, then, is to continue to highlight where things have gone wrong and to encourage breeders and Kennel Clubs to embrace reform - particularly when it comes to harmful phenotypes and inbreeding.